Outdoor Landscapes

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Do you wish to have an organic garden and have home-grown food to help lower your grocery bills? Are thinking of growing your own food in your garden but have a serious lack of space? Well, worry no more because you can do all that without the need for a huge backyard. It’s even possible for urbanites and apartment-dwellers to take part in the grow-your-own-food movement.

Having a limited space is never a problem. Even in a small backyard, you can incorporate both functional spaces for growing your own food and comfortable outdoor living areas for entertaining guests or enjoying time with your family. There’s a lot of ways on how to maximize your garden for urban farming that might want to try.

Determine Your Priorities

Many considered determining your priorities is one of the most important first steps in designing your garden.

You have to decide on how you want to use the space and how many features to include. In this way, you can determine the square footage you can allow for each component in your design. Try making a list of the features you want in your garden and use this list to determine how much space you should dedicate to your urban farming area.

Design Your Garden Space

Designing your garden is actually a key element in maximizing your harvest in a small space.

Take a look at these few design elements to consider when coming up with a plan for your garden area:

Include small walkways – If you wish to have few rows of fruits and vegetables in your garden, consider adding walkways in between your plantings to allow you to easily pick your harvest. Always make sure your walkways are narrow have plenty of room to comfortably walk down them carrying your gardening implements.

Blend your garden into your landscaping – This is actually a good idea for small garden space. It’s better to spread your fruits, vegetables, and herbs around your garden and blend it with your landscape design.

Place raised garden beds – Raised garden beds are quite popular among city farmers. This will keep your garden organized and visually appealing. This is also a better way to control the soil in which your plants grow, ensure proper drainage and limit weed growth.

Grow Your Plants in Container

You probably might not have enough room for a garden. Why not try growing plants in a container and hanging baskets, will surely be a perfect solution.

Add Trellises or Pergolas to Your Raised Garden Beds

Ideally, you can start with a raised garden bed, and then install a trellis leading up to a sturdy, pergola-style structure. This will allow you to train your plants to grow up the trellis and place hanging planters on the pergola, this would be a great way to make your garden look attractive.

Growing a vegetable garden in a small space quite need a bit of work and wise decision.You have to work on your creativity to determine the best ways to grow your favorite foods and maximize your garden space.

After a busy day, one of the most relaxing things to do is to sit down in a place where you can commune with nature. You usually do it on your patio. And since it is your haven of peace and comfort, turning it into a chic, outdoor retreat is a great idea.

The right plan, furniture, and accessories can amazingly transform your humble space into a stylish private entertainment spot. Why not splurge a bit for a long overdue patio makeover?

Pick a purpose

How do you want to use it? Do you want to entertain guests in this area or turn it into a personal sanctuary to think, meditate, read or write? Your purpose will determine how you will furnish it.

Dress it up

Create a luxe vibe by dressing up your patio from top to the bottom. Construct a roof if it is an open space. Jazz it up with new linoleum, floor mats or layered carpets. Place attractive outdoor rugs. Place extra-squishy floor cushions. Scatter some throw pillows. Hang gauzy curtains which serve as temporary walls to protect your privacy.

Set the mood with lights

Install lights that make a statement. Pendant lights in rattan setting, standing lamps, and twinkle lights are great additions. Exterior lights create varied atmosphere settings. Use them to highlight a centerpiece, an architectural piece or anything that you cherish.

Include a nap or lounge spot

Add a lounge chair, a daybed or a hammock where you can blissfully rest your weary mind and body. This is your special spot where you sip your morning coffee or just want to put up your feet.

Bring in Nature

Potted or hanging plants add life and vibrancy to the patio. A little greenery spot provides a sense of connectivity to nature and the Universe. Your outdoor retreat won’t be complete without them.

If you do not have green thumbs or want to avoid the hassle of maintaining real plants, use faux hedges to add green in the area.

Choose multi-functional furniture

If you have a tiny patio, furniture that can be used for other purposes is ideal. A bench can be used as a seat, a table or a drink bar. Add chairs with hidden storage. Garden stools are the perfect alternative to a table or chair. They save space and allows you to move freely.

Create a focal point

Make a fairy garden or a miniature garden in a box, pot, tray or basket. Light it up and display. You can also add a small fire pit to warm you up during cold nights. If you have an extra budget, install a fireplace.

Hang arts and mirror

Adorn an outdoor wall with art pieces that you love. You can also use framed posters, wood signs, wrought iron and other interesting pieces.

Mirrors with exquisite frames are great wall decor. They add sophistication and visually expands the outdoor space.

The warm weather starts its invitation to chill the nights outdoor. Time to plan your backyard getaway. Good thing, creating your very own outdoor living space nowadays need not be as meticulous as it was years ago. Homeowners today may invest with the outdoor furniture and decor, but still, allow their designs to be influenced with simplicity and functionality.

So, what’s the hottest backyard living trends now?

1. Low Maintenance Gardens

Simple and crisps backyard designs slowly replace splendid and dramatic landscapes. For economic and environmental reasons, homeowners start to think out of the box and go back to basics. They began to focus on sustainable, low-maintenance, natural yet better-quality materials.

Ideal plants are those drought-tolerant or plants that can live without water for a long period of time, disease resistant and easy to grow. These include lavender, agave, bougainvillea, poppy, portulaca and many other succulents, cactus and herbs. A backyard flourished with plants that are naturally thriving around requires minimal upkeeping.

2. Rustic Contemporary Lounge Areas

Patios that feels comfy and cozy and with the essence of the countryside are another backyard trends. This outdoor space adjoining a house becomes, literally, an extension of “home” and adapts the homely character of rustic indoor spaces. The setting is perfect for dining and recreation with friends and encourages stimulating conversations.

3. Unique Water Features

Backyard designs that highlight water features remain to be a favorite. Water suggests tranquility. The idea of water flowing in a garden or its fluid sound filling the air relaxes and soothes the mind. Homeowners use various and unique water features such as ponds, pools, remote water walls, portable fountain, streams to inexpensive independent water systems.

4. Foodscaping: here to stay

Edible gardens or landscaping with food are fast becoming popular especially among homeowners who wish to establish a community of urban farmers. Edible gardens may provide the neighborhood with healthy and natural products. Urban farmers usually harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs from these outdoor spaces. Edible gardens sprouted in place of turf grass. These gardens can be set from anywhere and can thrive in small spaces and containers. The following plants, which can be grown here include greens, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplants, and berries.

5. Indoors Goes Outside

Using new and relaxed outdoor fabrics, homeowners can indulge in creating customized living spaces outdoors. Outdoor fabrics are waterproof, resist fading, stain resistant, can be easily cleaned and usually made from acrylic fibers. These fabrics usually endure children and pets. Outdoor fabric covers patio furniture, planters, outdoor pillows and cushions, shade sails, pergola canopies, and umbrellas.

6. Going Green

Eco-friendly in its truest sense of green design, barbecue courtyard and outdoor kitchen is definitely not the least among the hottest design trends this year. Transforming the traditional backyard, “backyard is open to almost every room in the house, rather than being open to one or two rooms,” shared Steve Kemps, an architect. Outdoor space is usually observable from other rooms and is within reach from the back or from the lounge room.

7. Privacy screens, stackable furniture

Privacy screens suggest subtle division from the other section of the house or from neighbors nearby; and at the same time, decorative as well. You may choose from self-watering planters, bamboo screens, wall art, trellis, and brushwood to enhance the character of your backyard and may double as a privacy screen.

So there, you just have to know exactly how you want to use your space, maybe hanging out with your family and friends, cooking and having parties; then, perhaps, try mixing up different backyard designs to serve your purpose. In no time, you are finally settling into your own weekend rendezvous.